Following a positive showing at the annual round robin preseason tournament at Norway Savings Bank Arena earlier this month, Lewiston High School coach Ron Dumont had a decision to make. 

In his mind, the seventh-year coach was faced with two options: He could shield his players from all of the outside whispers and expectations, or he could tell them himself. 

Dumont went with the non-traditional approach. 

“I laid it out to them,” Dumont said. “I said that what you’re going to run up against is getting complacent. Where you not so much believe the hype but you’re not putting 100 percent effort all the time and that’s tough. That’s tough to battle. To keep people motivated. I think there’s going to be a possibility in some games where we’re going to determine the outcome very early, which is good because we can use kids that don’t get as much playing time, but it also puts you in that mindset that you just go through the motions.” 

Expectations for the Blue Devils this season are among the highest they’ve been for the program in recent memory. Lewiston returns six seniors on a team that finished 15-5-1 and advanced to the state championship game for the first time since 2010. 

Lewiston’s appearance in the state championship, a 2-0 loss to Scarborough, was considered unexpected. The Blue Devils knocked off Edward Little/Leavitt in the Eastern regional final after falling to their rival three times in the regular season. This year, Lewiston is considered the favorite in the East. 

“Our team is decent,” Lewiston senior goaltender Paige Fontaine said. “I’m not going to get strong-headed, but we have a lot of good players and a lot of potential. Our expectation is to go all the way like any other team, but I think we’ll be able to get there.” 

Fontaine anchors a defense that allowed just 18 goals last season, pitching 11 shutouts. The Blue Devils only lost to two teams last season — three times against the Red Hornets (KVAC championship not reflected on record), and three times to defending state champion Scarborough. 

Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland figures to be Lewiston’s biggest challenger from the East. 

“We still have all of the talent and pieces to be near the top of the Eastern division,” Edward Little/Leavitt/Poland coach Shon Collins said. “The round robin gave us a nice taste of a few of the teams from the East. Lewiston is improved and strong and we were the ones battling it out last year.” 

Despite not hoisting the championship hardware at the end of last season, the Blue Devils believe that the target is squarely on their back. 

“We did make the final and we potentially were always in the mix there, but we weren’t expected to (make it last year),” Dumont said. “There were other teams, and I think people have their opinions as to who should have been there, and we got there. This year, it’s going to be pretty clear that we’re the team to beat, at least in the East. What comes with that is a target. You’re worth a ton of points. If you decide not to show up one night, you could lose a game.” 

Lewiston’s roster boasts 12 forwards, highlighted by captain Erica Lemieux and assistant captain Corinne Laberge. The Blue Devils are no strangers to scoring goals as they averaged nearly three goals per game last season. 

Still, last year’s success doesn’t mean much to the Blue Devils. They are more focused on the present. 

“We just have to continue working hard and focus in practice and in games,” Laberge said. “We’ll be all set if we pay attention to the systems.”

Dumont’s praise of his team came with some words of warning: Don’t get full of yourself and don’t go around puffing your chest.

“We haven’t done anything,” Dumont said. “You can talk all day long. They sense this could be a special year, but you have to do the job. I don’t think there’s a kid on this team that’s going to be puffing their chest, but I make sure they understood that they’ve done nothing yet. I don’t care what people say or what the projections are.” 

The Blue Devils are more than aware of the expectations, and how they deal with that knowledge will be the difference between a state title or an early playoff exit. 

“The key is to overcome ourselves,” Fontaine said. “Not getting too big headed and take each game one at a time to be able to win.” 

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